Getting in the swim mood

In all honesty, I was dreading the workout.

I just didn't feel like getting in the pool and swimming 500 yards four different times -- including twice without my beloved fins.

I just wasn't in the mood.

But in the pool I went. And it's always a good thing when I do.

What I've come to love about swimming most is the sensory deprecation. You can't hear anything when you swim and if you're doing your stroke correctly, you don't really see a whole lot either. There is nothing but you and the water.

It's not necessarily a great time to think, especially if I'm trying to swim 500 yards and count the 10 laps (or 20 lengths) of the pool I'm doing lest I end up doing one less or two more than required. But it can be meditative. My mind doesn't quite empty (though that would be a blessing) but it does get quiet and focused and submerged in the joy of movement through the water.

On Saturday, I'll be hoping to keep the joy of that feeling as I participate in Carly's Crossing to help raise funds for pediatric cancer patients at Roswell Park. I've been recruited to swim the one-mile non-competitive distance and coerced, I mean, persuaded my friend Joe to join me.

And I'm pretty sure once I settle into the rhythm of the water I'll quickly be in the swimming mood.